International Kickstart Innovation Program starts for the 10th time
The Kickstart Innovation Program is opening the application phase for the tenth time. Last year, AI applications formed the application focus in 95% of cases, while 60% also integrated sustainability and the circular economy as central elements in the solutions presented.
Swiss companies are making slow progress in the introduction of AI compared to other countries, according to the international zero-equity open innovation platform Kickstart. "AI services such as ChatGPT are making progress, but there is often a lack of company-specific solutions based on self-trained models and proprietary data," explains co-founder and CEO Katka Letzing. According to a ETH survey among 200 Swiss technology companies, only one in ten companies is using or piloting AI. The study found that the lack of access to AI expertise is currently the biggest obstacle for the Swiss technology sector. Companies and start-ups alike can benefit from the new Kickstart program, the application phase of which has just started. During this year's nine-week programme in Zurich, selected start-ups from five sectors will meet leading companies, organizations and institutions and work together on new ideas and technologies as well as creative business approaches to strengthen their innovative power and open up new growth opportunities. Last year, 95 percent of the start-ups had already integrated AI into their solutions. The program's partner companies include AXA, Coop, Swisscom, la Mobilière, MSD, PostFinance, Romande Energie, Sanitas, Die Stadt Zürich, Innovaud and others.
Successfully implemented entrepreneurial ideas
Kickstart has supported more than 490 start-ups and intrapreneurship teams since 2015 and facilitated over 340 deals and proof-of-concepts as well as other commercial deals. Former participants such as Planted, Neustark and KernTec have turned their ideas into successful companies that now occupy leading positions in their markets. Planted is in the process of revolutionizing the market for plant-based meat alternatives, while Neustark is making a significant contribution with its CO2-The company is making an active contribution to climate protection with its concrete binding solution and KernTec is transforming fruit pits as waste products into sustainable raw materials. In total, all Kickstart alumni have generated over 2.8 billion Swiss francs in capital and successfully scaled their products.
Kickstart program partners are currently actively testing AI solutions
According to a recent evaluation of last year's Kickstart program, AI applications were the focus of solutions at 95 % of the 41 participating start-ups and were increasingly in demand for business by the participating companies. One example are the start-ups "hypt" and "Multimodal"which has concluded several agreements with leading Swiss companies for its data-based solutions, including la Mobilière, Swisscom, PostFinance and Sanitas.
The Kickstart program covers five subject areas: Health & Wellbeing, Finance & Insurance (including Cybersecurity), Food & Retail, New Work & Learning and Smart Cities. In addition to the Open Innovation program, Kickstart also runs the Mission 2030 project, which deals with specific initiatives to support long-term sustainability goals such as AI implementations for impact, circular economy, inclusion and other topics.
The application phase started on April 3, 2025 and invites ambitious start-ups and companies committed to innovation to apply and join the Kickstart innovation ecosystem.
Here it goes to the Application link and further information on the Kickstart partnership
